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Tubal ligation at the time of cesarean delivery requires significant additional physician work even though the technical work of the procedure is brief. Informed consent by the patient requires considerably more counseling by the physician regarding potential risks and benefits of this procedure t...

Prevention of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from mother to fetus or newborn (vertical transmission) is a major goal in the care of pregnant women infected with HIV. An important advance in this regard was the demonstration that treatment of the mother with zidovudine (ZDV)...

Competent surgical assistants should be available for all major obstetric and gynecologic operations. In many cases, the complexity of the surgery or the patient's condition will require the assistance of one or more physicians to provide safe, quality care. Often, the complexity of a given surgic...

ABSTRACT: The physiologic and morphologic changes of pregnancy may interfere with the ability to engage safely in some forms of physical activity. A woman's overall health, including obstetric and medical risks, should be evaluated before prescribing an exercise program. Generally, participation i...

ABSTRACT: Anthrax infections are diagnosed by isolating Bacillus anthracis from body fluids or by measuring specific antibodies in the blood of persons suspected to have the disease. It is recommended that asymptomatic pregnant and lactating women who have been exposed to a confirmed environmental...

ABSTRACT: Effective rehabilitation and modern reproductive technology may increase the number of women considering pregnancy who have spinal cord injuries (SCIs). It is important that obstetricians caring for these patients are aware of the specific problems related to SCIs. Autonomic dysreflexia ...

ABSTRACT: Pain management should be provided whenever medically indicated. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) believe that women requesting epidural analgesia during labor should not be deprived of this service based o...

ABSTRACT: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has endorsed the "Prudent Use" statement from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) discouraging the use of obstetric ultrasonography for nonmedical purposes (eg, solely to create keepsake photographs or vid...

ABSTRACT: Undergoing a single diagnostic X-ray procedure does not result in radiation exposure adequate to threaten the well-being of the developing preembryo, embryo, or fetus and is not an indication for therapeutic abortion. When multiple diagnostic X-rays are anticipated during pregnancy, imag...

ABSTRACT: The goal of preconception care is to reduce the risk of adverse health effects for the woman, fetus, or neonate by optimizing the woman's health and knowledge before planning and conceiving a pregnancy. Because reproductive capacity spans almost four decades for most women, optimizing wo...

ABSTRACT: Tay–Sachs disease (TSD) is a severe progressive neurologic disease that causes death in early childhood. Carrier screening should be offered before pregnancy to individuals and couples at high risk, including those of Ashkenazi Jewish, French–Canadian, or Cajun descent and those with a f...

ABSTRACT: Recent legal actions and policies aimed at protecting the fetus as an entity separate from the woman have challenged the rights of pregnant women to make decisions about medical interventions and have criminalized maternal behavior that is believed to be associated with fetal harm or adv...

ABSTRACT: Over the past two decades, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased dramatically worldwide and has made pregnancy possible for many infertile couples. A growing body of evidence suggests an association between pregnancies resulting from ART and perinatal morbidity ...

ABSTRACT: The Apgar score provides a convenient shorthand for reporting the status of the newborn infant and the response to resuscitation. The Apgar score has been used inappropriately to predict specific neurologic outcome in the term infant. There are no consistent data on the significance of t...

ABSTRACT: Neuraxial analgesia techniques are the most effective and least depressant treatments for labor pain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists previously recommended that practitioners delay initiating epidural analgesia in nulliparous women until the cervical dilatation r...

ABSTRACT: In light of recent studies that further clarify the long-term risks of vaginal breech delivery, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that the decision regarding mode of delivery should depend on the experience of the health care provider. Cesarean delivery w...

ABSTRACT: Amnioinfusion has been advocated as a technique to reduce the incidence of meconium aspiration and to improve neonatal outcome. However, a large proportion of women with meconium-stained amniotic fluid have infants who have taken in meconium within the trachea or bronchioles before mecon...

ABSTRACT: In this Committee Opinion, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Ethics presents various ethical considerations and arguments relevant to both prefertilization and postfertilization techniques for sex selection. The principal medical indication for sex sel...

ABSTRACT: Evidence continues to mount regarding the value of breastfeeding for both women and their infants. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly supports breastfeeding and calls on its Fellows, other health care professionals caring for women and their infants, hospita...